Estonian ride-hailing app, Taxify, has made a commendable job in spreading its user base around the world. The capital of Uganda, Kampala, becomes the latest African city to have Taxify. The company made the official announcement today, that Taxify ride-sharing services are now live in Kampala.
“Kampala is a huge and thriving marketplace for private urban transport. We’re very excited to launch here and are confident that Taxify can effectively contribute to healthy competition by improving the quality of service and providing an opportunity for drivers to make a sustainable income,” said Shivachi Muleji, the Taxify.
Taxify will effectively be going head-to-head with competitors like Uber and SafeBoda. To mark their launch in Kampala, Taxify is offering 15% discount on rides until the end of November. Kampala becomes the latest African city to join the list of cities where Taxify operates. This list includes; Mombasa, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, and Lagos among others.
Worldwide, Taxify is available in Africa, Middle East, Central America, and Europe. Taxify will be charging UGX950 + UGX600 per Km + UGX150 per minute with a minimum base fare of UGX4,500. While Uber charges a base fare of UGX1,100 + UGX150 per minute + UGX750 per Km and a minimum fare of UGX3,000. On the other hand, SafeBoda charges UGX500 as base fare, UGX500 per Km and UGX50 per minute.
The entry of Taxify in Kampala brings more choices for commuters in that city. Speculators are watching closely how Uber is going to react to this latest development. In the other cities where Uber has perceived a threat, it has reacted by waging price wars and lowering its prices. We are yet to see Uber take that same path; if at all it will go that way.